Mutual Aid and Assistance

In coordination with the water sector, the Environmental Protection
Agency is supporting a number of projects to promote the use of mutual
aid and assistance in response to any event that overwhelms a utility's
resources.

Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN)

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A Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) is
an intrastate network of "utilities helping utilities" to respond to and
recover from emergencies by sharing resources with one another. The
WARN framework provides a forum for maintaining emergency contacts,
providing expedited access to specialized resources, and facilitating
training on resource exchange during an emergency. The American Water
Works Association published a white paper, titled Utilities Helping Utilities: An Action Plan for Mutual Aid and Assistance Networks for Water and Wastewater Utilities, to provide utilities with the basic building blocks for developing a successful WARN.

At the heart of WARN is a standardized Mutual Aid and Assistance Agreement, which
outlines the terms through which utilities provide resources to one
another. The agreement covers key issues such as indemnification,
workers compensation, and reimbursement. The resolution of these issues
in advance expedites resource sharing between utilities during
emergencies.

Multimedia

Background on the WARN InitiativeThis video presents background on the WARN initiative and describes how WARN programs were started, the current status of WARN programs across the United States, and the benefits of WARN.

WARNs in ActionThis video presents the types of events in which WARNs can be utilized and discusses in detail one specific WARN response. The video emphasizes that, despite the type of emergency event, WARN coordination with response partners is crucial to a successful response.

A WARN can begin to build a
framework of supporting components, shown in Figure 1. Utilities can
execute a WARN Operational Plan, which can outline the processes and
procedures member utilities use to activate and implement their WARN
Agreement. To validate and improve their operational plan, utilities
conduct preparedness exercises ( See "Tabletop Exercises" tab).

Figure 1. Framework of the WARN Initiative

EPA published the following series of Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) Fact
Sheets to describe WARN:

The following exercise materials are intended to guide each WARN in the development and execution of a tabletop exercise to create, update and/or improve its operational plan and other emergency response procedures.

The Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN)
Tabletop Exercise Facilitator Guide provides instructions for planning,
organizing and conducting a tabletop exercise and includes sample
exercise materials such as scenarios (flood, hurricane, and earthquake) and; discussion questions, and presentation slides. The Facilitator Guide Fact Sheet provides an overview of the Exercise Guide and its benefits, while the Sample PowerPoint Presentation Materials offer an example of how an Exercise could be conducted.

Multimedia

WARN Tabletop ExercisesThis video presents an overview of WARN tabletop exercises, which are discussion based workshops based on objectives to help WARNs prepare for emergencies. The video includes footage from actual exercises, describes the benefits of tabletop exercises, and discusses key issues that have been discussed at previous exercises.

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)

The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
provides a mechanism whereby states can
provide interstate (between states) mutual aid and assistance during incidents. EMAC has demonstrated its value in providing
interstate mutual aid and assistance for multiple sectors and
disciplines and can be used to share water sector resources such as
equipment and personnel across state lines.

Other Supporting Publications

American Water Works Association (AWWA) Resource Typing ManualThis
Resource Typing Manual was written to provide guidance to water and
wastewater utilities when they request and provide mutual aid and
assistance resources during and after an emergency. The resources
described in this manual are those anticipated to be needed up to the
first thirty days following an incident, emergency, disaster, or
catastrophe.

AWWA WARN Economic BenefitsThe
purpose of this report is to explain to utility managers and decision-makers the economic viability of forming and participating in Water/Wastwater Agency Response Network (WARN).